The US Department of Justice has filed charges against five people for cyber crimes aimed at financing North Korea's nuclear program.
From October 2020 to October 2023, the defendants participated in a campaign organized by the North Korean government to infiltrate the US labor market through fraud. The goal of the campaign was to create revenue streams to finance North Korea's nuclear program.
Arrests, charges, and sentences
Kristina Marie Chapman and Alexander Didenko were arrested on May 15 in Arizona, and on May 7 in Poland, respectively. The US Department of Justice is seeking Didenko's extradition to the United States. Both are charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, identity theft, conspiracy to launder money, electronic communications fraud, identity fraud and bank fraud.
Three other foreign nationals known under pseudonyms (Ji Ho Han, Haoran Xiu, and Chunji Jing) are also charged with conspiracy to launder money.
If found guilty, Chapman could face a maximum sentence of up to 97.5 years in prison. Didenko faces up to 67.5 years, and each of the unknown foreign citizens-up to 20 years.
Fraudulent schemes and consequences
According to the prosecution, Chapman placed the computers of North Korean IT specialists in her home, creating a "laptop farm" to pretend that the devices are located in the United States. Remote employees were hired as software and application developers for several Fortune 500 companies, including an aerospace and defense company, a major television network, and a Silicon Valley technology company.
Employees earned millions of dollars for their work, and Chapman processed their paychecks through her financial accounts. 60 laptops of fake employees were found in the Chapman residence, which in total earned almost $3 million.
According to the US Department of Justice, Didenko operated the online platform UpWorkSell, providing North Koreans with the ability to use fake identities to search for remote work. Didenko also owned approximately 871 proxy servers, providing accounts for three freelance platforms and three different money transfer services. Didenko was involved in the creation of at least three "laptop farms" in the United States, managed 79 computers and received $920,000 since July 2018.
The scheme affected more than 60 U.S. citizens, harmed more than 300 companies in the U.S., and created false tax liabilities for more than 35 U.S. citizens, as well as generating at least $6.8 million in revenue for foreign IT workers. The US State Department announced a reward of up to $5 million for information about Chapman's associates, North Korean IT specialists and their leader, known only as Zhonghua.
• Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/...ed-cyber-schemes-designed-benefit-north-korea
• Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/media/1352191/dl
• Source: https://www.state.gov/rewards-for-justice-reward-offer-for-information-on-north-korean-it-workers/
From October 2020 to October 2023, the defendants participated in a campaign organized by the North Korean government to infiltrate the US labor market through fraud. The goal of the campaign was to create revenue streams to finance North Korea's nuclear program.
Arrests, charges, and sentences
Kristina Marie Chapman and Alexander Didenko were arrested on May 15 in Arizona, and on May 7 in Poland, respectively. The US Department of Justice is seeking Didenko's extradition to the United States. Both are charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, identity theft, conspiracy to launder money, electronic communications fraud, identity fraud and bank fraud.
Three other foreign nationals known under pseudonyms (Ji Ho Han, Haoran Xiu, and Chunji Jing) are also charged with conspiracy to launder money.
If found guilty, Chapman could face a maximum sentence of up to 97.5 years in prison. Didenko faces up to 67.5 years, and each of the unknown foreign citizens-up to 20 years.
Fraudulent schemes and consequences
According to the prosecution, Chapman placed the computers of North Korean IT specialists in her home, creating a "laptop farm" to pretend that the devices are located in the United States. Remote employees were hired as software and application developers for several Fortune 500 companies, including an aerospace and defense company, a major television network, and a Silicon Valley technology company.
Employees earned millions of dollars for their work, and Chapman processed their paychecks through her financial accounts. 60 laptops of fake employees were found in the Chapman residence, which in total earned almost $3 million.
According to the US Department of Justice, Didenko operated the online platform UpWorkSell, providing North Koreans with the ability to use fake identities to search for remote work. Didenko also owned approximately 871 proxy servers, providing accounts for three freelance platforms and three different money transfer services. Didenko was involved in the creation of at least three "laptop farms" in the United States, managed 79 computers and received $920,000 since July 2018.
The scheme affected more than 60 U.S. citizens, harmed more than 300 companies in the U.S., and created false tax liabilities for more than 35 U.S. citizens, as well as generating at least $6.8 million in revenue for foreign IT workers. The US State Department announced a reward of up to $5 million for information about Chapman's associates, North Korean IT specialists and their leader, known only as Zhonghua.
• Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/...ed-cyber-schemes-designed-benefit-north-korea
• Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/media/1352191/dl
• Source: https://www.state.gov/rewards-for-justice-reward-offer-for-information-on-north-korean-it-workers/
